The Sixth Seal

God’s promise, that He will yet shake, not the earth only, but also heaven, leads us to expect a great convulsion, both in the heavenly and earthly divisions of the created universe. We know, also, from Scripture, that the time will come when
the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up {2 Pet. 3:10}.
The present earth and heaven shall flee away before the face of Him who will sit on the great white throne, and no place shall be found for them. This will be followed with
new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness (see 2 Pet. 3:10, 13; Rev. 20:11).
Again, Paul, in writing to the Hebrews on the Godhead of the Son, quotes from the 102nd Psalm to show that He endures after this present creation-scene shall have passed away.
Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thine hands: they shall perish, but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment, and as a vesture, shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail {Heb. 1:10-12}.
We are thus taught to expect the passing away of the present heaven and earth, which we know will take place at the close of the millennium; but, prior to that, we look for terrible convulsions and changes; for God hath declared by His prophet Joel,
I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come {Joel 2:30, 31}.
Our Lord Himself, also, when asked what would be the sign of His coming to Israel, when they shall say,
Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord (Matt. 23:39, and 24:3),
replied,
The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven {Matt. 24:29, 30}.
Our Lord also said;
There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations; with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming upon the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken (Luke 21:25, 26).
Thus we see that terrible shaking, both of the heaven and earth, will not only take place before our Lord is revealed, but that it will be of such duration that men will have time to fear, and to look for what further is coming.
We are not surprised, then, to find in the Apocalypse, when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, that
Lo! there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together [or, the heaven was removed as a book rolled up]; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places, etc. {Rev. 6:12:14}.
It seems to me that these changes, whether physical or political, take place not long before the Lord is visibly revealed from heaven. We must remember that at this period infidelity is thriving in the earth, man is deified, and the only Lord God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, is denied. In this way, we can understand how God will rebuke and confound the wisdom of the wise by such terrible commotions.
Men will be great y alarmed and distressed at the actions of the sixth seal; but it is not the actual coming of the Lord, though they say so; for the seventh seal has yet to be loosed. At this time we find,
The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for [mark, they say,] the great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? {Rev. 6:15-17}.
The fear and distress of men are plainly marked in this scene; but after this, though it may be a very short time after, when the Lord is actually revealed, men are in a different mind; alarm and fear seem to have passed off, and infidelity to have usurped its place in their hearts; for they are in full league with the Man of Sin against Christ. With reference to that awful time, it is said,
I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army {Rev. 19:19}.
Then men will be bold indeed in their antagonism to the Lamb, instead of being overwhelmed with anguish and terror, as at the time of the sixth seal.
Whatever physical changes may take place at the opening of the sixth seal, it is clear that the falling of the stars from heaven unto the earth, and the heaven departing as a scroll rolled together, before the appearing of our Lord, have a symbolic meaning. There may be reference to the fall of bright and distinguished personages, the breaking up of ecclesiastical powers and governments, and the shaking of everything that man tries to rest and glory in; but whatever it be, it clearly fills the minds of those dwelling on the earth with extreme terror and distress, and causes great alarm at the thought of the Lamb coming in wrath.